CBA 2004-05

The 2004-05 regular season lasted from November 14 2004 to March 2 2005, with games scheduled on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. [http://sports.sina.com.cn/cba/schedule/2004-11.html] [http://sports.sina.com.cn/cba/schedule/2004-12.html] [http://sports.sina.com.cn/cba/schedule/2005-01.html] [http://sports.sina.com.cn/cba/schedule/2005-02.html] [http://sports.sina.com.cn/cba/schedule/2005-03.html]

Yunnan, the 2004 CBL champion, was promoted to the CBA to replace one of the two Beijing teams from the previous season, the Beijing Olympians, who were disqualified for one season. Two other teams also made their debut (Fujian and Henan), for a net gain of two teams, from 12 to 14.

For this season, the league was divided into a North Division (北区) and a South Division (南区), and a new playoff system was also introduced. The regular season consisted of 266 matches, with each team playing 38 matches (four against each of six other teams within its division and two against each of seven teams in the other division), a considerable increase from previous years. The former system of promotion and relegation between the CBA and the "B" division (now CBL) was also abolished, with a one-time exception to promote a replacement for the disqualified Beijing Olympians.

The all-star game was played on March 6 2005 in Nanjing, after the end of the regular season and before the beginning of the playoffs: the North Division defeated the South Division 103-99, and Mengke Bateer was the MVP. Also, all-star games were played against the KBL, on January 28 2005 in Korea and January 30 2005 in Harbin, China. Korea won the first game 85-82; China won the second game 93-77. [http://english.people.com.cn/200501/31/eng20050131_172416.html]

Regular Season

North Division

Guangdong and Jiangsu each swept their series and moved on to the finals. Bayi failed to make the finals for the first time ever (in ten years).

Finals

The finals were a best-of-five series. For the first time, the NBA's 24-hour channel NBA TV televised the CBA finals in the United States. [http://www.nba.com/news/cba_050413.html] .

In their four regular season matches, Jiangsu had prevailed 3-1. Jiangsu and Guangdong finished first and second respectively in the regular season South Division standings, but Guangdong then swept Jiangsu 2-0 in the non-eliminatory South Division divisional playoffs.

This was the first time that the best-of-five finals had ever gone the full five games. Guangdong had trailed 0-1 and 1-2 in the series, and in the final game in Jiangsu's home court in Nanjing they staged a dramatic comeback, overcoming a 14-point deficit in the early minutes of the fourth quarter and scoring a remarkable 42 points in that final quarter to defeat Jiangsu by eight points.

Imports

Guangdong: Jason Dixon, Peter Cornell
Jilin: Rod Gregoire, Shawnelle Scott, Melvin Whitaker
Jiangsu: Ryan Forehan-Kelly, Jelani McCoy, Keith Bean, Simeon Haley
Xinjiang: Lorenzo Coleman, Corey Benjamin, Jamal Kendrick
Bayi: None
Beijing: Olumide Oyedeji, Paulinho Boracini, Carlos Nascimento, Donnell Knight
Yunnan: DeAngelo Collins, Antonio Latimer, Lee Benson
Liaoning: Ernest Brown, Chris Alexander, TJ Cummings, Wesley Wilson
Shanghai: Davor Pejcinovic, Rob Dryden
Zhejiang: Soumaila Samake, Doug Smith, Isaac Fontaine
Shandong: Mack Tuck, Kevin Lyde, Marcus Fleming, Cedric Suitt
Fujian: Brian Hendrick, Ryan Lorthridge, Alton Ford, Damon Thornton
Henan: Darrell Johns, Odell Bradley, Eddie Elisma
Shaanxi: Garth Joseph, Corey Hightower, Lincoln Smith, Tate Decker

ee also

* Chinese Basketball Association